10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Europe

This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard about Turkey. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.

1. A lot of the better-quality stuff to be found in Turkey comes from Bulgaria, especially drugs and food, but it’s only better quality compared to locally produced things. It’s rumoured that the Bulgarians are using this as a way of slowly sinking their claws into the Turkish government.
2. Cyberware that’s openly worn in Turkey is almost certain to incite the extremists against the users. It’s rumoured that some of the extremists want to go a step further and start eliminating all ‘ware that can be found, but their general bias against technology doesn’t make them best equipped for such.
3. Food is short in Turkey, and many will pay premium money for poor quality food, given that the alternative is rats. It’s rumoured that some of the corps use Turkey as a place to dispose of food that would otherwise be unsellable and have to be destroyed, especially food that is dangerous to eat.
4. In order to keep Turkey under control, the government rules with an iron hand and abandons reforms that might provoke the religious fanatics. It’s rumoured that these fanatics are getting increasing amounts of funding from outside the country, in the hopes of causing enough trouble that it starts spilling over into Europe proper.
5. Istanbul’s port is a war zone that’s not under the control of the government, despite what officialdom might claim. Cops collect protection from the local gangs, though it’s rumoured that some of the gangs are growing tired of having to pay the cops and have been looking for some heavy weaponry to take out their armoured cruisers.
6. Rikshas are the preferred method of travel in Istanbul and, thanks to the narrowness of the streets, the only viable form of taxi. It’s rumoured that some rikshas are run by criminal groups who will kidnap foreigners and often literally strip them for parts.
7. The rich of Istanbul live in mansions dating back to the time of the Ottoman Empire and have a level of luxury unimaginable by most of the country. It’s said that this is drawing a great deal of resentment, and that a popular tide is rising to try and make the rich pay.
8. The Taurus and Canik in Turkey were sold to EC power companies and are now home to windfarms defended by EDF troopers. Locals often clash with the defenders, and there are rumours that external forces have been supplying the locals to make them a bigger threat to the EDF.
9. Turkey depends on food imports from the EC though the country’s parliament is talking to Belgian food producers, though not directly, to try and build up a new food industry to replace that which was lost in the Meltdown. However, there are many who prefer that Turkey needs to get food from the EC, thanks to what the Easies get in return, who would be interested in sabotaging these talks.
10. War is being waged in the Turkish countryside against what the government calls, sometimes accurately, rebels. It’s rumoured that what the army does in this war often crosses many lines as to what would be considered to be acceptable, but little in the way of genuine details get out, often because all the witnesses are dead.

D10: Europe Rumours: Turkey is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.